London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Iran steps up uranium enrichment, worrying France and other nuclear partners

Iran steps up uranium enrichment, worrying France and other nuclear partners

Iran has started the process to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity at its underground Fordow facility, state media reported Monday, going well beyond the threshold set by the 2015 nuclear deal.

This is the latest and most important suspension of nuclear commitments agreed by Iran under the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015.

Iran has gradually abandonned key provisions of the international deal in response to US President Donald Trump's dramatic withdrawal from the accord in May 2018, with the US subsequently imposing heavy economic sanctions on Tehran.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akba Salehi, was quoted by the state-controlled Mehr news agency as saying that "we were able to achieve 20 percent uranium enrichment technically within 24 hours," adding that “until three or four years ago, we used to produce an average of 4 to 5 tons of yellowcake, but now, for about two years, we have increased the production of yellowcake to 30 tons," an amount that may grow to 40 tons, or an eight-fold increase compared to 2018. Yellowcake is concentrated uranium powder, and is an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ore.


'Considerable departure'

The European Union on Monday said that Iran's enrichment programme would be a "considerable departure" from the 2015 deal.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said Brussels would wait until a briefing from the director of the UN's IAEA nuclear watchdog later Monday before deciding what action to take.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees Iran's latest steps as a "proof" that Tehran wants to develop a nuclear weapon, something Iran has always denied.


On 31 December, Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that it would begin producing uranium enriched to up to 20 percent purity, the level of enrichment before the nuclear deal was reached.

According to the latest IAEA report available, published in November, Tehran was previously enriching uranium to levels greater than the limit provided for in the 2015 Vienna agreement (3.67 percent) but not exceeding the 4.5 percent threshold, and still complied with the agency's strict inspection regime.

Assassination


But things changed follolwing the assassination in late November of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

In the aftermath of the attack, blamed on Israel, hardliners in Tehran pledged a response and on 1 December, the conservative-dominated parliament passed a bill "for the lifting of sanctions and protection of the Iranian people's interests".

The bill also called for the production and storage of "at least 120 kilogrammes per year of 20 percent enriched uranium", and mandated the administration to end UN inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, if the remaining parties to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- do not facilitate Iran's oil sales and guarantee the return of the proceeds.

Europe still in


Earlier, the EU had spoken in favor of maintaining the deal, in spite of the US unilateral withdrawal.

In a statement on 21 December, France, Germany and the UK “re-emphasised their commitment to preserve” the JCPOA and pointed at the “need to address … sanctions lifting commitments”.

All eyes are now on the US, where president-elect Joe Biden will take the helm in just two weeks. If it is up to France, the other European partners, China and Russia, the JCPOA may be restored, albeit with some modifications.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×